estoy vomitando!

I didn't want to give too many details about this Cotopaxi climb before I left, partly because I didn't want to worry anyone, partly because I didn't really know them!

The summit is around 5,900 meters, roughly 3.7 miles high, or 19,360 feet. They don't keep much air up there so most folks don't even make it. As it turns out lots of people get sick even just staying in the refuge before the climb. My first experience with Cotopaxi was my freshman year in a class on globalization and shamanism that went to ecuador for 10 days. On a flight on a cloudy day from Quito to Cuenca, the only thing above the clouds we could see was Cotopaxi. It wasn't until later that I heard that folks climb this beast, then last year i met a group that was planning on making the ascent without a guide. This is like trying to eat cheerios without a spoon. Some people have done it, some even like it, but it's not normal.

Well we got all our gear and had a quick lesson on how to use our ice axe and crampons (spikes that strap on to your shoes to help you stand on snowy mountains) before bed. Normally they have a practice session but it was snowing so hard we couldn't really go outside. A good sign the night before a climb...

They woke us up at 12, we had breakfast and started climbing. The air's so thin that you can really only make a step every second or two if you're not completely acclimated. One of the best things about a night climb is the headlamps of the groups going before you snailing up the curves of the volcano. Comfort in strangers that have gone before you and accomplished their aims.

We really only took breaks every hour or so, and made it up to the top of the glacier when I started to feel ill. The trail blazers quit switching back and forth to help with the incline and decided to head straight up. So for two hours we're throwing everything we've got at this trail. But this was just as the sun came up so it made for amazing tricks with the snow, clouds, ice and neighboring mountains. I could almost forget how sick i felt.

We stopped for one break near the top of the glacier and the powerade I had been drinking was just entirely too much sugar and not enough water and my body decided to pull out the veto. So, while our guide was fixing his gloves or something i started puking of the side of the mountain. After the second or third iteration, our guide says "listo?" - "ready?" and all i could shout back was "no! estoy vomitando!" - "no! i'm vomiting!" he didn't seem to notice and kept going. we caught up with him after a quick clean up and made it to the summit. I'd upload the exact same picture at the top, only featuring me but I can't put my hands on my camera cable... I'm sure you get the idea though.

After we got back, it occured to me that my heart hadn't stopped racing to push oxygen to all the parts of me since we'd gotten to the refugio and we'd been hiking a formidable incline for some 9 hours straight. My buddy Joff and I were the only ones to make the summit in a group of 6, which is partly because it's so tough, but also because it's a total crap shoot how your body will react to the altitude. I think I know what a marathon feels like now. I can say without hesitation that this was the hardest thing I've ever done but it was such a blast.

i think i can, i think i can...

First thing tomorrow morning, I'll get up, have a huge breakfast and hop on a bus to this volcano, Cotopaxi. It's the world's tallest, snow-capped, active volcano, and we'll be heading for the summit. We've tried on all our gear, bought gatorade, apples and chocolate, batteries for the headlamps and made sure our phones and cameras are all charged (these are all supposed to work at the summit).

The deal is we drive up, have lunch and practice braking and climbing all afternoon, have a big dinner and hit the hay. We get up at midnight and start climbing, aiming to reach the top between 6 & 8 am - just in time for sunrise. Apparently, any later than that and the snow starts to melt in the sunlight making it a much tougher and less-pleasant hike.

Wish me luck!

I wanted to sleep

Yesterday I went out to visit Stuart at the funcacion and had a really great time. We went out to Otovalo to drop off some volunteers that were going to their host families for the first time, and got to shop around a bit. That night we cooked up a big curry with fresh bread and the Ecuadorian staple - pilsner. After eating, drinking and talking for hours we hit the hay, only to be stirred from sleep with haunting noises coming from the ceiling.

The fundacion hosts volunteers, but it's got a pretty big campus so they host groups too. This week it's an Ecuadorian brand of Buddhists on a retreat from the outside world. At 4 they ring a bell and walk silently to a roped off area where they spend all day looking at the ground. This goes until nightfall when they file back in to the dorms which are located directly above Stuart's spare bed - where I was sleeping. So when 4 came around this morning, they decided that it was critical to get a real jump start on the day with some heavy furniture moving, ram horn blowing and dropping of large objects. I mean, who can blame them, buddha said lots of wise stuff so who's to say he can't be credited with "nothing says good morning like a toot of the ol horn?" I had just gotten back to sleep when it was time for round two at 7. Rinse and repeat?

volunteering is costly

So, the internet is apparently not the way to find hospitals or doctors to volunteer with. It develops that nearly every program costs several thousand dollars in good ol' administrative costs. In the mean time though, i've met a lot of dissatisfied volunteers who recommended some hospitals that I could approach in person and sidestep the man. I've also met some cool kids who just got out of university here with degrees in ecotourism that need a roommate... looking good so far! It develops that laundries are fantastic places for finding apartments, at least in the Mariscal, (which locals call gringolandia).

The good news is that there doesn´t seem to be any shortage of hospitals. And from what i hear from volunteers, for many of them, volunteering comes down to shadowing physicians every day - experience that is equally invaluable and tough to come by in the states. Luckily, one of the ladies that works at my hostel is a physiotherapist and it sounds like she might be of some help finding contacts. All this work makes me want to write a guide on how to do this and get around all of these ridiculously costly organizations. The model that most of them use is a major diversion of funds away from hospitals and the local economy.

After I check out a couple of places today, I'm gonna head out to the boonies tomorrow and see my buddies out there, hopefully get the skinny on these fiestas coming up in September...

I ate this animal

I just got back from visiting Chris, one of my best buddies from college and I had an amazing time. Talk about one of the best ways to get ready to head out of the states - see more than just my hometown bars i mean - i had a full-on introduction to life on the Chassahowitzka river.

We went out fishing, didn't catch much so we took a break to snorkel a bit around the reef, and Chris's buddy ross found a scallop. From then on out, it was on. We grabbed our masks and dive bags and floated for some 4 hours picking of les fruits de la mer. I had no idea what they look like, but they've got the most incredible blue eyes that watch you from the bottom of the flats. All told, we must have nabbed some 100+ scallops, cleaned 'em on the boat ride back and cooked 'em that night. Nothing better in this world than knowing your food.

Other than diving for scallops, we made it out to the chilly spring-fed underwater caves and dove through tunnels that have been carved out of limestone by years of natural flow from aquifer to ocean. Not to mention meeting some of the coolest characters I've ever talked to in person (including Chris's dad... did he have to spit on that teenager?). It was like some sort of Louisiana bayou charicature that you know had to be real because it didn't have the same level of awareness of self that can be found in the big easy.

We spent last night at Chris's new place cooking up all those scallops and some spanish mackarel a neighbor had caught some time before. We were up until 4 in the morning eating, talking and cajoling what sounds we could from Chris's dad's amazing gibson 45.

And here I write from home, packing and preparing to fly out at 5 tomorrow after a great sendoff from Raymond, Julia and all the Woodworth generation prime - ben, andy + anjie. Wish me luck, it's my currency of choice these days.